The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday launched coordinated search operations at the Salt Lake office of political consultancy firm Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) and the residence of its director in Kolkata. The action, linked to a five-year-old coal smuggling case, triggered a fierce political storm, with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee personally intervening and accusing the central agency of acting at the behest of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Chronology of a High-Voltage Search Operation
The day began early with ED teams moving into action. At 6:05 AM, officials reached the I-PAC office in Sector V, Salt Lake. Shortly after, at 6:30 AM, another team arrived at the Loudon Street home of Pratik Jain, a director at the firm. The searches continued through the day, drawing the attention of the highest levels of the state administration.
By late morning, Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal and other senior officers arrived at Jain's residence around 11:30 AM to verify the credentials of the ED officials. The situation escalated when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, unable to reach Jain on phone, arrived at the Loudon Street address around noon. She stayed for approximately seven minutes and left carrying a green folder, a hard drive, and a mobile phone.
Mamata Banerjee's Sharp Retort & Allegations of Vendetta
Launching a blistering attack, CM Banerjee framed the raids as a direct political assault. She questioned the timing and intent, alleging that the real aim was to confiscate her party's election strategy and candidate list ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. "Amit Shah has sent ED to snatch our party's poll strategy and candidate list. Is this the ED's work?" she asked.
She further stated, "They searched our IT cell office and the house of our IT cell-in-charge to collect hard disks and documents having our poll strategies. The candidate list, party strategy, everything is here." Banerjee dubbed the Union Home Minister "nasty and naughty" and accused him of failing to protect the country while trying to win elections by seizing her party's internal documents. "What will happen if I raid BJP office?" she challenged.
After leaving Loudon Street, the Chief Minister proceeded to the I-PAC office in Salt Lake, arriving at 12:45 PM and staying for over three hours before departing at 4:20 PM. The ED teams concluded their searches at the residential property at 2:45 PM and at the I-PAC office at 5:20 PM.
The I-PAC Connection and the Underlying Case
I-PAC is a prominent political consultancy that has worked with major parties across the spectrum. Originally founded in 2013 as Citizens for Accountable Governance (CAG), it has strategized for BJP in the 2014 general elections, and for leaders like Nitish Kumar, Amarinder Singh, Rahul Gandhi, Jagan Reddy, Uddhav Thackeray, Arvind Kejriwal, M.K. Stalin, and Mamata Banerjee in various state elections.
The ED's action is reportedly connected to a 2020 coal smuggling money laundering case. The agency claims that a 'hawala' operator facilitated transactions worth tens of crores of rupees to Indian PAC Consulting Private Limited, the registered entity behind I-PAC. Thursday's searches were aimed at gathering evidence related to these alleged financial flows.
The incident has sharply intensified the political confrontation between the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal and the BJP-led central government, setting the stage for a heated electoral battle.
